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The Raven
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Metascore
44 out of 100

Mixed or average reviews - based on 30 Critics What's this?

User Score
6.3 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 37 Ratings

Your Score
10 out of 10
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  • Starring: Alice Eve, John Cusack, Luke Evans
  • Summary: When a mother and daughter are found brutally murdered in 19th century Baltimore, Detective Emmett Fields makes a startling discovery: the crime resembles a fictional murder described in gory detail in the local newspaper—part of a collection of stories penned by struggling writer and social pariah Edgar Allan Poe. But even as Poe is questioned by police, another grisly murder occurs, also inspired by a popular Poe story. Realizing a serial killer is on the loose using Poe’s writings as the backdrop for his bloody rampage, Fields enlists the author’s help in stopping the attacks. But when it appears someone close to Poe may become the murderer’s next victim, the stakes become even higher and the inventor of the detective story calls on his own powers of deduction to try to solve the case before it’s too late. (Relativity Media)… Expand

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 4 out of 30
  2. Mixed: 20 out of 30
  3. Negative: 6 out of 30
  1. Chicago Reader
    Reviewed by: J.R. Jones
    Apr 26, 2012
    70
    This may conjure up unpleasant memories of Guy Ritchie's "Sherlock Holmes" movies, but Ritchie could learn a lot from director James McTeigue (V for Vendetta); this is multiplex fare to be sure, but McTeigue manages to popularize 19th-century literature without completely vulgarizing it.
  2. Time
    Reviewed by: Richard Corliss
    Apr 30, 2012
    60
    Until The Raven almost literally loses itself during a chase in the city sewers, it nicely balances its literary gamesmanship with a R-rated thriller's mandatory gross-out tableaux.
  3. Slant Magazine
    Reviewed by: Jaime N. Christley
    Apr 26, 2012
    38
    While full of welcome gore and blood spatter, it's bankrupt of any creative spark.

See all 30 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

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Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 19
  3. Negative: 4 out of 19
  1. Benzin
    8
    Gripping, Suspenseful, and Emotional in all the right places, James McTeigue's "The Raven" is a thrilling motion picture which presents in depth characters and a well-made plot portrayed by the skilled actor John Cusack. While the movie itself rarely falls flat in certain scenes, the appearance of Mr. Poe and other characters isn't as canon as some would want it. Despite these fallacies, The Raven will keep you entertained to the end.… Expand
    • 1 of 2 users said yes
  2. DanielOnFilm
    5
    The most I can say for it is that it has enough tension to hold interest, but it never thrills or fascinates. The ending does payoff, but barely. The Raven has just the lighting design it needs; Poe and company are drenched in dramatic shadows. The dialog is filled with clever wordplay, but there's scant investment in those who speak it. The body count rises, but none of the victims receive an iota of development. There is blood, there is gore, but we've seen it all before. Full review on my blog.… Expand
    • 2 of 2 users said yes
  3. FDT44
    2
    Let me make this quick, out of respect for the late Poe, "The Raven" is a camp, leanly scripted, horribly acted calumny that unqualifyingly slaps its literary predecessor in the face and defecates on the very writing style that made him unique, supplanting the same pervasive and consuming eeriness with a cheesily rote, slice-and-dice murder mystery that tries to look mean with dark-hued tints and wailing screams but instead appears pathetically misguided and unintentionally funny. Director, James McTeigue just doesn't have a skill for wit here, ruining what could have been a fair pastiche and tribute to Poe, and instead channeling attempts to do so through a hard-to-see, black screen with Conan Doyle in the foreground becoming lost in his own self-searching investigation. 'Raven' is an uninvolving potpourri that creates such such a mess for itself, that it doesn't even know what it's trying to do. Just silly. Do yourself a favor: save some time and just read Poe instead; it's sure to be more engaging. This, however, is nothing to rave about.… Expand
    • 2 of 4 users said yes

See all 19 User Reviews

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